Schools respond to Connecticut tragedy

School districts throughout the county are responding to the shooting incident in Newtown, Conn., that took the lives of students and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Letters to parents were sent home with students that addressed the tragedy and notified parents of their district's own safety procedures. Many also included National Association of School Psychologists' age-appropriate tips for speaking about the Newtown event with their children and reminded parents about the resources located at school buildings, including social workers and counselors, who are available throughout the day for students who have questions or need to talk. Many districts are keeping classroom discussion of the incident at a minimum and are encouraging parents to decide whether to speak of the event.

"We have trained counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists available in our buildings to help with children or adults who show signs of struggling to cope," said Ionia Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Batista in a letter to district parents.

Many schools are reassuring students of the school as a safe place to be, attempting to maintain a regular schedule to keep a sense of normalcy, and are asking staff to be more aware of students' emotional states.

Although most of the finer details of security measures are safeguarded, superintendents said they practice a number of different drills in each building as required by the state, have crisis management plans and instant alert systems, and take safety measures that include one main entrance, locked classroom doors, security cameras and a mandatory guest check-in at the main office.

"We try to catch every exception to the rules," said Threshold Academy Principal Victoria Simon, adding school staff members are trained to handle various types of emergency protocols.

Crisis plans are reviewed annually by districts, but many are being reviewed again following the Newtown tragedy, with school administration and staff looking at potential additions to the current precautions.

A letter to parents from Belding Area Schools Interim Superintendent Sara Shriver located on the BAS Website says, "The school district strives to maintain safe and caring schools through clear behavioral expectations, positive behavior interventions and supports, and crisis planning and preparedness. Belding staff work hand in hand with local law enforcement and fire officials to develop crisis plans for many different situations in an effort to be prepared for every emergency instance."

Shriver added she feels confident that the BAS staff provides the utmost safety for the students.

As for all Ionia County school districts, there have been no reports of abnormally low attendance, and, according to superintendents and principals, school staff members are making the days following the Newtown shooting as normal as possible.